Whatever It Takes
by Brittany65
Summary: Elliot's son is missing and it's up to the squad to find him. The story explores pain and the unbreakable bond between two partners.
1. Chapter 1

Elliot gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He could feel the anger coursing through him, despite his attempts to calm down. Kathy had called him earlier that day and started belittling him after she found out he would be having a late night at the office again. It was 3 in the morning, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Elliot knew, however, she would be waiting up for him, wanting a fight. _What the hell did she expect when she married me?_ Elliot thought, as he got out of the car and walked to his door.

He let out a sigh, as he opened the door and saw Kathy sitting at the kitchen bar. Her face was streaked with tears and she was clutching the house phone, holding it to her chest.

"Kathy, I _had _to stay late," Elliot protested as he took off his coat and wiped at his dry eyes. "The case we're working on-" His sentence cut short by Kathy sobbing. He could see she was shaking from across the room, and he ached to see her in so much pain.

"Kathy," he muttered as he walked towards her. He couldn't understand why she was being this way. It's not like this is the first time he stayed out late because of the job.

"No. Don't," She cried out as he reached out for her. She got up from the bar stool and turned his back on him. "It's Dickie. He never came back from his friends house. He should have been back before bedtime," she whispered. Elliot could hardly hear her, so he walked in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders and bent down so they were eye level. "What? Did you say Dickie-"

"Yes!" she screamed out. Another set of tears rolled down her face as she pushed him away. "Dickie's gone! I called his friends mom and she said he left at 10 to walk home! That was 5 hours ago!"

"And why didn't you call me? The cops? Why are you just now telling me this?" He could feel the anger rising again. He leaned against the counter and rubbed his forehead.

"I...didn't notice until 2 hours ago," she whispered, more to herself than Elliot. "I'm a bad mom. I shouldn't have let him stay out so late. I should have checked to see if he was home before I went to bed. I should have-" Elliot silently agreed with each statement she made, but he put his arms around her and whispered, "It's okay. We'll find him."

Elliot went into their room and closed the door. He had to let this anger go. It wasn't going to help them find their son. He grabbed a pillow and screamed into it. Elliot didn't want Kathy feeling even more guilty than she already had. He will never forgive her for this, though. He couldn't. He knew how valuable each second was, and she waited _5 hours?_

Elliot's anger was replaced by fear the moment he released the pillow. He could still hear Kathy sobbing from the other room, and it started to sink in. Their boy was missing.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm trying my best to get the SVU procedures correct, and I'm sorry if I made some mistakes. Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>"Richard Dickie Stabler. Age...16. Went missing 6 hours ago. Last seen leaving a friends house. He is considered <em>at risk <em>until significant information to the contrary is confirmed," Cragen shouted at the room full of uniforms. His eyes stopped on Elliot, before hastily looking away. He could see the worry and hurt in his eyes, and he couldn't stand to see one of his best detectives in so much pain. "Canvas the neighborhood, knock on doors...anything you need to do to _find _him," he spat out, while pointing to the picture of Dickie on the board. The uniforms left, and Elliot let out a long breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Fin, Munch...go talk to the family who saw him last. See if his friend knows of any place Dickie liked to go that was within walking distance," Cragen barked. He looked at Olivia as Fin and Munch swiftly left the room. He lowered his voice to a whisper to talk to her. "Check to see if there's any…registered sex offenders in the neighborhood."

She nodded her head and went to her desk without looking at Elliot. She felt bad for him, but nothing she could say or do would make him feel better about the situation. She loved Dickie like he was her _own _son, and she fought back the tears she knew were coming while she started checking the list of known sex offenders.

"And me?" Elliot asked while walking towards his captain.

"Go home. Get some sleep. Comfort your wife. Be there for your kids. You're in no state to help." Cragen didn't look him in the eye, because he knew what would be lurking behind the younger mans eyes and he couldn't stand to see it again.

"You're kidding, right?" Elliot demanded, his voice rising with every word. "You expect me to just...do _nothing _while he's out there?"

"Fine," Cragen sighed. He knew Elliot wouldn't back down. "But if I see that this is too much, I'm taking you off the case." He walked into his office and sat down. As he looked out his window at his detectives, all he could think of was how much he wanted a drink.

Olivia was looking through the sex offender registry and the list of recent parolees who might have a grudge against Elliot, but she couldn't stop herself from switching her gaze between her computer screen and Elliot. He looked as though he had aged 10 years in the past few minutes, and the look of him made her heart ache. She wish she could give him some kind of comfort, but she couldn't even give _herself _any.

"Good news. It looks like there is no sex offender within 10 miles of your house," she said, while silently congratulating him for picking such a safe neighborhood.

"Hmm…" was his only reply, and she wasn't sure if he heard her at all.

Elliot was absorbed in his own work, looking through a bunch of files on his desk. As Olivia walked around to his side of the desk, she saw that they contained information on other missing child cases.

"We'll get him back, you know," she stated. She tried to make her voice sound confident, but she quietly cursed herself when she heard the panic in it. She sat on his desk and put a hand on his shoulder.

He glanced up and she looked into the glistening eyes of her partner. They stared at each other for a moment, telepathically telling each other it was going to be okay, before she got up and sat at her desk again.

The call came in around 6 that morning. The ringing came from the phone in Cragen's office, but everyone heard it. No one was sure if they should run towards it or flee from it, afraid to know what the person on the other end had to say. So they all ended up staring at it, until Cragen finally answered it.

He let out a shaky breath. "Special Victims."

The man on the other end said something that caused Cragen's eyes to go wide, as he peered through his window at Elliot.

He hung up but didn't move, as he stared at Elliot. Finally, he broke the painful gaze and walked slowly to his doorway.

"Elliot. They...found a boy's body-" he paused, as Elliot groaned and collapsed on his knees. He reluctantly continued. "They found a body matching Dickie's description, and they need you to ID it."


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N - I know my chapters are short at the moment, but I promised myself I would update this story daily. Not a lot happens in this chapter. I just wanted to show what child loss (or the feelings of) does to people, even the strongest ones. **

Elliot couldn't move. He felt all the energy slowly run out of his body. Someone was calling his name, but it sounded so far away, so he ignored the sounds around him and focused on his hands instead, unable to see them clearly through the tears collecting in his eyes.

As soon as Olivia saw Elliot collapsed, she called out his name and ran over to him. It took every ounce of her to stop herself from collapsing on the floor next to him. She had to be strong for her partner. She couldn't break down just yet.

When she saw that Elliot was not responding to her, she looked over to her captain. "Does the ME have him already?" she asked through choked tears.

Cragen just nodded, afraid to know what his voice sounded like.

Olivia looked back to her partner, and gathered his head into her chest. She was surprised he offered no resistance. She started to stroke his head whispering," It's okay, it's gonna be okay…"

Elliot turned into her and they sat there for a few minutes. Olivia pulled him away when she didn't feel his body shake anymore, so she can look him in the eyes. They were bloodshot.

"El, we have to go now," she whispered softly. "If you want, I can ID-"

"No," Elliot said rather loudly, which made her jump. "I'm sorry. I have to do it. I need to know."

Olivia nodded and got off the floor, offering her hand to help her partner up. He reluctantly took it, and stood up slowly. "I have to call Kathy," he stated, not showing any emotion besides his red eyes.

Olivia headed towards the lady's restroom. As she reached the door, Olivia looked back at her partner. He was sitting in his chair, staring at the phone that rested in front of him. She couldn't imagine getting a call that Kathy was about to get. Just the thought of it made tears fall down her cheek. She let them, as she was alone and needed to break down a little to remain strong for her partner. Olivia looked in the mirror at the black stream flowing from her eyes. She hastily grabbed a towel and wiped them.

Elliot met her outside the lady's restroom, looking sorrowful. "I called Kathy to give her an update on the situation, but I told her to stay with the kids."

Olivia nodded, making a note of how composed he sounded. _He's so strong, _she thought, as she grabbed his shoulder and started rubbing. Elliot moved away from her and went to grab their jackets, and she followed.

When they got to the ME's office, Elliot didn't know if he wanted to run towards the doors as fast as he could, or run back to his car. _It's probably Dickie, _he thought. _I __mean, what are the chances they found another kid in the same neighborhood?_

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><p>Olivia glanced at Elliot and could see the conversation going through his head. He was afraid to face what lied ahead. She knew, because she was thinking the same way. Afraid he was going to run back outside, she quickly grabbed his arm and led him through the double doors.<p>

Melinda sighed as they walked through the doors. Olivia looked as though she was supporting Elliot, and Elliot just seemed like he wasn't there. Melinda didn't want to do this anymore than they did.

"Elliot, are you ready?" she asked. _What a stupid question Mel, _she thought to herself. _How can any parent be ready for this?_

Olivia looked at Elliot, and when she saw that he wasn't going to respond in any way, she looked at Melinda and nodded.

Melinda grabbed the blanket that was on top of the small frame. She hesitated for just a second before pulling it down.

Both Elliot and Olivia gasped. She quickly grabbed onto Elliot's elbow, but it was too late. He was already down on the floor. She went down with him, and they held each other and cried.


End file.
